1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer systems, and more particularly, to portable computer systems that may be coupled to a docking station.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable computers enjoy widespread popularity. Advances in computer technology, such as faster processors with low power consumption, have led to portable computer systems that are comparable to desktop computers in performance. Because of these improvements, portable computers are an ideal solution for a user that needs a large amount of computing power as well as a mobile platform.
Despite the performance increases, portable computers still are at a disadvantage relative to other computers. In particular, due to their small size, portable computers typically are not able to offer as much functionality as stationary computers, as a limited number of interfaces are present. One solution to this problem is a docking station. A docking station may allow for increased functionality when the portable computer is coupled to it. Through a docking station, a portable computer may be able to utilize the functionality of such devices as a full-screen monitor, additional printers, scanners, and so forth.
Although docking stations are a convenient solution to providing additional functionality for a portable computer, coupling the portable computer to a docking station may introduce a new set of issues that require attention. One such issue has arisen due to new industry requirements for security in computers, and specifically notebook computers using “LPC (Low Pin Count) Docking”. In many cases it may be required to protect information passing through a docking interface such that the information does not become accessible outside of the notebook computer.
Other corresponding issues related to the prior art will become apparent to one skilled in the art after comparing such prior art with the present invention as described herein.